On The Horizon
by Red On My Ledger
Summary: Neverland is a place where you can go to get lost, or to change. When a certain pixie asks for the help of a certain pirate, what will happen when he needs to return to Neverland and face the world he thought he had left far behind him? And what will happen when Emma and Henry join him? (Special thanks to Meg - ladymagdalene on tumblr - for being the best beta in the world!)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Let me get this straight," Tiny said after hearing Killian try and convince everyone in the diner that he was on their side now, "You want me to give you a bean from my beanstalk?"

"Aye," Killian said with his most winning smile in place, "Well, actually two beans, one to get there and one to get back."

"Not gonna' happen," Leroy chimed in from the back of the diner, arms crossed, "After bringing Cora to our town, and after what you just did to Rumplestiltskin -"

"That's not a great argument..." Ruby muttered as she cleaned off the counter, but her comment went ignored.

"And that's not even to mention what you did to Tiny - knocking him out with a sleeping potion and snooping through his home!"

"Not cool," another Dwarf said quietly.

"Oy, I wasn't the only one involved in that little stunt, Swan was too. And more good than bad came out of it," Killian argued.

"What are we talking about?" Emma asked, voice wary, as she entered the diner. No one had even seen her come in.

"The small giant refuses to lend me two beans," Killian explained. He turned back to Tiny and added, "And you have how many beans growing on that stalk?"

Tiny shook his head in a combination of defiance, disbelief, and poorly suppressed anger, "You can't seriously be asking me for a favor?"

"If you do this then I'll owe you one," Killian tried to bargain with the exasperated giant, who looked like he was about to get up and leave.

"I don't want you to owe me one, all I want from you is for you to stop talking to me."

Emma crossed her arms and sighed, leaning against the wall of the diner and wishing she hadn't come into the diner in the first place. After the last few days she had been having - with Henry barely talking to her, Neal deciding he deserved to be in Henry's life, and somehow ending up as Gold's emergency contact at the hospital - it was easy enough to say that she wouldn't mind shutting herself up in her apartment and taking the longest bubble bath she had ever taken. But instead she found herself in the mix of a chaotic and overly crowded Granny's. And with it sort of being in her job description to settle disputes within the town, she couldn't just turn back around and leave.

"I think it's a great idea," Ruby said, setting the cleaning cloth on down and leaning on the counter, "Get that scallywag out of our hair for a little while."  
Killian frowned slightly, offended by her argument but not about to say anything against it because he knew that, despite how harsh he thought it was, it helped his case.

Emma thought about this for a moment, trying to concoct a way to diffuse the situation and make everyone happy. She looked over at Leroy, who still stood strong with his arms crossed, and the over to Tiny, who still looked like he was about to get up and leave, and finally over to Killian, who was already looking over at her, eyebrows raised in the expectation of her to say something, preferably in his defense. "What do you want the beans for, anyways?" She finally asked.

"I have unfinished business I need to tend to in Neverland," Killian answered simply.

"You have a lot of unfinished business, buddy," Ruby muttered, and was again ignored (though Emma did send her a "don't" look).

"Is this unfinished business going to end up in an another hospital visit?" Emma asked, keeping her voice dry of any and all emotion.

"No, love. Not all unfinished business is like that," Killian smiled at her, "Tinkerbell crossed worlds last night, she came to tell me that there was trouble in Neverland, between the Lost Boys and the Indians."

"Oh, Tinkerbell, great," Leroy mumbled, "I heard she's a pest." That last part was a whisper and directed towards the Dwarves, but Killian heard it loud and clear.

"Tinkerbell is a friend and I owe her a favor," the pirate raised his voice as he began to advance towards the corner of the Dwarves sat in. Emma noticed that he also brought up his hook and she quickly got over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder and pulling him back.

"Okay, okay, okay," She said, trying to stop the situation from getting out of hand. She glanced over at Tiny and then back to the still-fuming pirate, "We'll get you the beans."

"What?!" And now the giant was mad.

"Look," Emma said, "It's only two beans. And if you don't give them to him then he's just going to keep pressing, and, trust me, the stress that will cause - for everyone - will not be worth the two beans."

Tiny glared at her for a moment before sighing and standing up from his seat at the bar. He sulked across the diner, frowning at the beaming pirate as he passed him by. When he got to the diner's double doors he said, "Follow me," and then exited the little restaurant. Killian did so immediately, a bit of a skip in his step, followed by Emma - who was stopped by a confused-looking Ruby who placed a "hold on a minute" hand on Emma's shoulder. "Where are you going?"  
"I can't leave Hook and Tiny alone together, that's asking for even more trouble."

Ruby sighed, "You gotta stop getting so involved in people's lives around here. When is Emma going to get a day off?" Ruby cocked her head to the side and frowned. She looked to Emma as if she were her sister, so she couldn't help but to feel a bit protective over the blond.

"I'm the sheriff, it's my job to get involved in people's lives," Emma replied, giving Ruby a small smile before continuing on her path after the pirate and the giant.

_(...)_

Henry had spent the day with an uncomfortable Neal, a weary Mary Margaret, and a protective-to-the-point-of-anger David. So, simply put, the day could have gone better. Much better. After an awkward lunch, which was silent for the most part, due to any attempt at conversation not going so well, Henry asked if he could go to the library for a little while. His argument was to pick up a book for school - Classic.

Mary Margaret, David, and even Neal knew the real reason as to why Henry just needed to go to the library all of the sudden - the boy obviously needed to clear his head - but none of them hinted at it. "Sure," Mary Margaret said, after glancing over at the two other adults in the room and receiving blank responses.

Henry got up from the table and headed to the door to put on his shoes. Mary Margaret followed heading to the coat rack by the door to put on her purple coat.

"Wait," Henry said. He walked closer to Mary Margaret and said quietly, "Can I go alone?" She gave him a worried look. "I'll be super safe!"

Mary Margaret sighed and reluctantly nodded her head as she took her coat back off and replaced it to it's spot on the rack. David stood up from the table to protest, but sat back down when Mary Margaret shook her head at him. She turned back to Henry and placed a loving hand on his shoulder, "Be home within the hour."

Henry nodded quickly and smiled up at his grandmother, thankful, before opening the door and leaving the apartment.

It was true, Henry did need a book for school...by the end of the month. He really just wanted to figure out how he felt about Neal. He liked him enough, he supposed, but the whole thing was still just a little surreal to the boy and he didn't quite know what to make of it. He laughed to himself; he could handle the idea of fairy tales being true, but he didn't know what to do with having a father. Just give it time, he thought to himself, it's just going to take some getting used it.

His path to the library however was stopped when he saw a giant, a pirate, and his mother heading in the direction of the beanstalk. Henry, curious to a fault, decided to follow behind, keeping his distance so he wouldn't get sent home by Emma.

They all approached the beanstalk (Henry hiding behind a rock as he tried to find out what was going on) and Tiny plucked two beans off of the stalk. He slowly turned around, almost as if he were second guessing himself, and reluctantly handed the two beans over to an expectant Killian, "One to get to Neverland, and one to get back," Tiny said, his voice making it even more obvious that he hated what he was doing.

Henry heard what had just been said and couldn't control his excitement. He popped up from behind the rock, "Wait! Neverland?!"

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Emma asked, "You're supposed to be with Neal."

Killian rolled his eyes.

"I was with Neal," Henry began to explain, "but...I remembered that I had to pick up a book for school." Stick with the same story. It wasn't a total lie after all.

Emma looked at her son. It had been days since the last time the two had really gotten to talk. She wanted to ask him how things had gone with Neal, if he had any questions about anything. She wanted him to forgive her and she wanted another chance at explaining herself. But she didn't want all of this to be done in front of a frustrated giant and Captain Hook.

"But back to what's important," Henry piped up again, "Neverland?!"

"Yeah, Hook's going there because he owes Tinkerbell a favor," Emma immediately regretted telling Henry the details because she knew that his next question would be -

"Can I come?!" Henry asked enthusiastically, walking towards the three adults.

Emma shook her head and was about to say something but was cut off by Killian, "Sure you can! You and your mum both," He said, looking over at Emma and giving her a big smirk. He knew it'd get under her skin and he loved it when she was frustrated.

"No, no, no," Emma said, "You have school, and, and..." And now Emma Swan was frustrated.

Henry walked closer to his mom and looked up at her with big, innocent eyes, "Please, mom!"

Emma's heart melted. She just wanted to see him happy like he used to be, before everything that had gone down in the last few days. She wanted for him to come to her like he used to all the time. She wanted their relationship to be back to where it was before the trip to Manhattan.

And then he had gone and called her mom for the first time since Neal had resurfaced.

And he looked so thrilled.

Emma sighed and said softly, "Okay."

Henry laughed and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Emma hugged him back tightly and smiled.

She turned to Killian and asked, "Will we need to bring anything?"

"No, it won't be too long of a trip," Killian answered, "We'll be back before you know it, love," He grinned and Emma had to keep herself from rolling her eyes.  
She may have earned a chance to win Henry back, but she had also earned herself some quality time with the pirate.

What had she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Killian led the way to the dock, as an excited Henry and an increasingly nervous Emma followed closely behind. Tiny, immediately after handing the beans to the pirate, stomped back off to Granny's. As they got closer and closer to the dock, Emma saw the Jolly Roger, no longer shielded by magic, sitting in the water. Overall the walk hadn't taken too long, surprisingly, so the three soon found themselves standing directly in front of the massive vessel.

"A pirate ship," Henry whispered enthusiastically under his breath. Emma heard him and couldn't help but to smile; Henry had always liked pirates.

The three boarded the ship, and Emma quickly noticed that she needed to take a few moments to get her sea legs. Henry, on the other hand, seemed to be right at home. The young boy ran after Killian towards the helm and asked, "Are we going sailing?"

"A bit, lad," Killian answered, "Out just enough so we don't take the whole town through the portal with us."

"When did you start worrying about the safety of Storybrooke?" Emma came walking up, using the railing to help keep her balance.

"People change, love," Killian said, with that classic smirk in place. "Mr. Henry," He said, turning to the still-excited looking boy standing to his right, "Do you know how to sail a pirate ship?"

Henry shook his head.

"Would you like to learn?"

Henry nodded quickly and gave a bright smile, "Yes!"

After a quick ship sailing how-to, the three of them were setting sail out and soon found themselves in the middle of the harbour. "This should just about do it," Killian said. He turned to face Emma and Henry and smiled at the two of them, "I have to mind the helm, so I can't very well open the portal. Which one of you two would like to do the honors?"

Henry was about to accept but was cut off by his mother. "What do the honors entail, exactly?" Emma asked, skeptical.

Killian pulled one of the two beans out of his pocket, "Just dropping this into the water below, simple task."

Henry looked up at his mom, searching for approval. Emma nodded and Henry ran over to Killian and took the bean from him. He turned back around to face the pirate, "Just off the side of the ship?"

Killian nodded.

Henry walked over towards the side of the ship and looked down. He had never been out this far in the harbour (he could barely see the town from where they were!), he had never been on a pirate ship before, and he had never opened up a portal before - especially not with a magic bean. And now he was about to embark on a trip to Neverland. He smiled to himself. It was times like these that Henry just needed to take a second to really think about his life and all the magic that was in it. He may have always seemed collected about the entire thing, but even he needed a chance to really take in what was happening sometimes. He reached his left hand, the one holding the bean, over the side of the ship, looked back at his mother and the pirate, who both smiled at him encouragingly, before he finally unfolded his hand let the bean drop into the blue water.

A few seconds passed by and nothing happened. Emma was beginning to doubt that it would work (magic had always worked different in Storybrooke), but when she turned around to face Killian she saw that he looked completely calm. He must have saw her questioning face because he smirked at her, held his hook up to his mouth in a _shhh_ gesture and then said, "Hang on, love."

Emma cocked her head to the side and was about to ask what he meant when she noticed the blue waters below change into purple and gray, and felt the ship begin to move. At first it moved gradually, but after a second or two it began to move faster and faster. Killian retook control of the helm to help guide the ship through the vortex, and Emma rushed to the side of the ship and pulled Henry in back towards where Killian was stationed, what she hoped was a safe distance that would prevent anyone from falling overboard. As the ventured deeper into the vortex, the wind began to blow faster and the ship began to move quicker. Killian turned around slightly to face Emma and her son, "I wasn't joking, love, you're going to want to hang on."

Emma and Henry took the advice and the blond carefully guided her son towards the space in front of the helm, hanging on to the railing there.

The downward spiral only lasted a few more moments but it felt much longer than that. Once they finally sailed out of the vortex they landed into aqua blue waters, the ship skidded to a halt and Emma and Henry had to hang on tighter to the rail to make sure they didn't fall forward and Killian just kept a good grip on the wheel.

After regaining their balance, Henry and Emma began to move about the ship, taking in the new world around them. It was absolutely _stunning_. The hills surrounding the water were bright green and covered in little pink and violet specks that Emma assumed were flowers but were too far away to make out clearly. The sky above was a soft, baby blue and held a few puffy, white clouds and a shining sun. Emma walked to the side of the ship and looked down into the waters. They were deep and clear and she could see fish of all different sorts and other sea creatures swimming about happily. She smiled, she couldn't believe how gorgeous this place was. It was the most beautiful place she had ever been to. She looked over at Henry and saw his awe-struck face and found her smile grow bigger.

Henry headed towards the bow of the ship and gazed out around him. In the distance, a few miles off, he saw a sandy beach leading into a lightly wooded area. Everything felt so fresh and pure here, in Neverland. Henry ran back up towards the helm, where Killian was still steering the ship. He pointed in front of them, towards the beach, "Is that where we're going?"

"Aye," Killian answered, smiling over at the young boy, "Thankfully it's clear of inhabitants, I didn't want a welcome party when I returned here."  
"You got enemies here too then, I take it?" Emma asked from the ship's deck.

"I got enemies everywhere, love, I'm a pirate," Killian said, smiling at her. She rolled her eyes.

"This is still a quick trip still, right?" She asked, turning her attention back out to the beauty around them.

Killian nodded, "I don't want to be here any more than you do, simply here to do a favor and leave." _The quicker the better_, Killian thought. He wasn't too keen on returning to the place he had once called his home, not because he didn't like it there but because most of Neverland's residents didn't want_ him_ there.

"What are we going to do once we get to the beach?" Henry asked.

"Find Tinkerbell."

_(...)_

It had almost been an hour and Mary Margaret was beginning to worry. Her, David, and Neal still sat at the table, and the conversation was still as scarce as it was before - little comments on the weather and not much of anything else. Mary Margaret had tried to call Emma, thinking that she may have ran into him, but hadn't gotten through. Mary Margaret had chalked it up to her daughter's phone being off.

"I'm going to go look for him," She finally said, standing up from the table.

"I'll go with you," David replied immediately, darting up from the table and heading over to the front door to grab his coat.

Neal stood up too, and followed the two out of the apartment.

After a silent walk they finally reached the library. David tried to open the doors but they wouldn't budge, "It's closed."

"Where could he be then?" Neal asked.

"Granny's?" Mary Margaret offered.

"Worth a shot," David said, leading the way to the diner.

The three entered the nearly empty diner and walked right up to the counter. Mary Margaret smiled at Ruby, who returned the smile and walked over to them, "What can I get you three?" She asked, not recognizing Neal but welcoming him warmly anyways.

"We're just trying to find Henry, have you seen him?" Mary Margaret asked, voice sweet as always.

"No, I haven't," Ruby answered, "He's about the only person in this town that I haven't seen in here today."

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"_Everyone_ was in here earlier, or at least it seemed like everyone. Hook was asking Tiny for some magic beans or something," Ruby replied.

"Yeah, two magic beans," Tiny said. He had been eating pie, and supposedly eavesdropping, at a nearby table. "I gave them to him, after Emma made me. Last I heard he, Emma, and Henry were all headed to Neverland."

"_Neverland_!?" Mary Margaret and David exclaimed in unison. Neal just kept standing behind them, looking worried.

"That's where he said he was going," Tiny replied, "Henry overheard and asked Emma if they could go and, for some odd reason that I'll never get, she agreed. Last I saw them they were headed out towards his ship."

"_Wait_," David said, "They all just...left and sailed off to Neverland?" He sounded angry and confused and Mary Margaret placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That's what I'm guessing," Tiny shrugged.

"She wouldn't just up and leave for Neverland," Ruby piped up, "Would she?"

"She must have had a reason," Mary Margaret replied, "I just wonder what it was."

"Well, what are we going to do then?" Neal spoke up, "Follow after them?"

David and Mary Margaret both looked at him, and Neal could see the wheels turning in their heads. He immediately realized that he probably shouldn't have offered up that idea.

David turned back to face Tiny and said, "We need to borrow some beans."

"What? No way, I'm already down by two," Tiny said, taking a bite of his pie.

"Why did they take two anyways?" Mary Margaret asked.

"One to get there and one to get back."

"Well, then you'll be down by four." She replied, sternly.

Tiny shook his head, "Nope. They said that they'd be back soon anyways, just wait it out."

"That's my daughter and my grandson," David said, advancing towards the small table, "I'm not about to just _wait it out_. Just give us two beans, we'll pay you for them if you want."

Tiny sighed and immediately regretted ever coming into the diner today. If he had just stayed in his room at Granny's he wouldn't have gotten a stress-induced headache and he would still have two beans - well,_ four_ now. He nodded. "Fine. Go to the stalk and get two off of it."

"Thank you, Tiny," Mary Margaret said, smiling at the giant. The giant forced a smile back and went back to his pie.

The trio exited the diner and headed towards the beanstalk, devising a plan on how they were going to get there along the way. They finally came to the decision that if Emma, Henry, and the pirate had gone to the dock to get to Neverland, then they would do the same. Now all they needed was a boat - something that Mary Margaret covered with a quick phone call to a slightly annoyed Leroy.

They weren't sure on what they were doing, Mary Margaret being the only one with any portal-travelling experience but they managed to figure it out and soon found themselves on Leroy's boat, spiralling down into a purple and gray whirlpool.


End file.
